MIAMI GARDENS — All of a sudden, one of the Dolphins’ biggest weaknesses entering the season, cornerback, isn’t a big weakness any longer. It’s an interesting phenomenon, a curious turn of events. This trio of castoff and no-name cornerbacks — Jack Jones, Rasul Douglas and Cornell Armstrong — has emerged as a reliable crew, something that was on display in Monday’s 27-21 win over the New York Jets.
And to think, the Dolphins’ cornerbacks, who figure to play a key role in Sunday’s game at Carolina, were all basically last-minute acquisitions.
“Last game the guys who played for us, not one of them was on the roster when we started camp,” cornerbacks coach Mathieu Araujo said.
In an ideal world, the Dolphins’ up-from-the-mud cornerbacks will serve as an example for the entire team. No one expected much from these guys, and through four games they’re among the best-producing units on the team.
And, yes, the cornerbacks are aware of the chatter outside the locker room.
“People are going to say what they want, you know what I’m saying?” Jones said. “We’ve still got to strap it up and go out there and play every Sunday. So we’ll just let the results speak for us.”
The results — some of the credit goes to general manager Chris Grier, who has a knack for finding cornerbacks — are speaking loudly.
Jones, a 2022 New England fourth-round pick who is on his third team in five years, made what’s temporarily the Dolphins’ play of the year. At the very least, it’ll hold up as September’s play of the month. Jones punched the ball from New York Jets running back Braelon Allen just before Allen crossed the goal line in the first quarter on Monday.
“He’s fiery and he gets excited and he plays,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. “He’s got instincts, but he plays the game with his hair on fire.”
Douglas, ranked as the NFL’s seventh-best cornerback by Pro Football Focus (PFF), sacked Jets quarterback Justin Fields for one of the Dolphins’ two sacks that night. Douglas’ pass coverage has been exemplary.
“Rasul is just a consummate professional,” Weaver said of the 30-year-old who spent the last two seasons in Buffalo.
While that was going on, Armstrong, a 30-year-old, 2018 Dolphins sixth-round draftee who was signed to the active roster from the practice squad roughly two weeks ago, was doing work as the nickel/slot cornerback.
“I was with Cornell in Houston,” Weaver said, “so I knew what he was about…Really when we were in Houston, the reason he didn’t play more is just that he battled some injuries.”
While the results haven’t been perfect, as the Dolphins defense has allowed 27.8 points per game and a 122.9 passer rating, the cornerbacks are a remarkable success story.
The Dolphins bungled things at the position in the offseason.
On draft night the Dolphins decided it was better to invest in a rookie left guard — Jonah Savaiinaea — than a rookie cornerback. They traded up to select Savaiinaea in the second round. Savaiinaea is off to a slow start. Meanwhile, Arizona cornerback Will Johnson, selected 10 spots after Savaiinaea, is rated as the NFL’s 12th-best at his position by PFF.
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The Dolphins opened the season in September without any of their three starting cornerbacks from 2024. After the season ended they released veteran Kendall Fuller. Then they traded Jalen Ramsey, a probable Hall of Famer, in late June without a solid replacement plan. The gut punch came when nickel/slot Kader Kohou, who occupied the title of the best cornerback on the roster after the Ramsey trade, sustained a season-ending knee injury in training camp.
Another big blow happened when Storm Duck, the best cornerback after Kohou, sustained an ankle injury in the season-opening 33-8 loss at Indianapolis. He still hasn’t returned. The Dolphins already had Ethan Bonner, a promising youngster, sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained in Detroit in an August preseason game. And veteran cornerback JuJu Brents, awarded off waivers in August, has only played 14 snaps, all on special teams, in two games.
All the while there was an ongoing seek-and-find game at cornerback.
The Dolphins signed veteran cornerback Kendall Sheffield and cut him. They signed veteran cornerback Mike Hilton and cut him. They signed veteran cornerback Cameron Dantzler and cut him. On Wednesday, the Dolphins released cornerback Cam Smith, their 2023 second-round pick. Smith, drafted to be a multi-year starter, was substandard for years.
“I have a ton of love for Cam,” Araujo said. “Been here with the Dolphins throughout his career. And like I said, love him, want to do everything I can to help him, and hope that I did a good job in doing that while he was here. So I wish him absolutely nothing but the best.”
The cornerbacks have proven to be a resilient group. And they bring a good mental approach. Jones understands the importance of his caused fumble against the Jets but he doesn’t want to live off of that moment.
“I’m not trying to discredit it,” he said, “but it’s like, I mean, you don’t want to hang your hat on that for too long, even though there’s still a lot of football to play. So, I mean, good play, but, next play.”
